“That,” he murmurs, “was better than I imagined.”
I swallow hard.
“You imagined it?”
“Constantly.”
I don’t know what I was expecting. Maybe a smooth line, maybe a cocky grin, but Reid looks almost vulnerable. Like letting me see this part of him is the real risk.
“I want to see you again,” he says. “Tomorrow, after I fix your car.”
Hope flares hot in my chest.
“I want that too.”
Maybe that’s why the fear slips in, sharp and unwelcome. Wanting him feels dangerous.
I hold onto him as the snow keeps falling, lingering in this bubble where the cold doesn’t bother us and the uncertain future doesn’t exist.
By the time Reid drives us back to the inn, the snow has stopped but the buzz in my chest hasn’t.
He kisses my forehead, slow, lingering, and sweet in a way that melts my bones, waiting until I’m inside my room before heading to his. I don’t stop smiling as I flop face-first onto the bed and scream into the pillow.
Holy shit.
The kiss. Thewayhe kissed me. Like he already knew how we’d fit together.
I’m still warm everywhere he touched. I’m still breathless. I’m still replaying every second like my mind doesn’t trust me to remember it properly.
I give myself five whole minutes to be deliriously happy.
And then I pull out my phone. Three messages from Amber and a missed call from my mom. Radio silence from my dad and brothers, per the usual. They won’t panic until there is a reason to panic.
I send Amber a text letting her know I’m back from my date and then I call my mom.
“Honey, are you safe?” she asks immediately.
Guilt hits me like a wave. She expected my call an hour ago, and I’ve made her worry for no reason.
“I’m fine,” I tell her. “We made it to Hope Peak.”
“I told you,” I hear my dad in the background. His voice is faint but deep and it easily carries across rooms. “She’s a smart girl with shitty taste in cars. I bet it broke down, and she had to get it towed.”
Thankfully, this isn’t a video chat, or they would see me wincing as he hits the bullseye. I know what my mom’s next question will be and I see no reason why my dad should know he was right about my car.
“I met a man,” I confess.
She squeals before repeating them for my dad.
“Did he graduate with you? Where does he live?” she asks.
“He’s from Chicago, but he’s friends with Noel’s husband.”
“The boys love Nicholas! You know they’re working at the tree lot this year. He’s such a sweet man! They’re not married yet though. Noel is still a little gun shy after last year.”
Reasonable, considering the entire town watched her ex ditch her at the altar on Christmas Eve to marry another woman.
“Are you going to ask his name or just wait to see the wedding invitation?” my dad asks.
